NEW NOISE: GORGON CITY

As the days get brighter, our thoughts turn to dancing in the sunshine. Enter Foamo and RackNRuin’s new project, Gorgon City, who are making music worth getting down to.

How did you guys meet and how did you start making music?

We met whilst DJing in the UK and decided to collaborate. It went really well and after making a few more tracks we decided to start a whole new project altogether.

You both make music as RackNRuin and Foamo – what makes the Gorgon City sound different from your solo stuff?

Matt: Gorgon City is deeper, groove-based house music. Whereas my RackNRuin stuff is more bass heavy, influenced by sounds like garage, jungle, and reggae.

Kye: For me, Gorgon City was the first time I’d really collaborated with vocalists, so that definitely sets it apart from my solo stuff. Also, the GC sound has definitely got deeper since we started it, and evolved into something completely different.

How do you guys make a song together – who comes up with the beats, words etc?

We’re always writing new ideas, normally we’ll start with some chords and melodies that we’ll write when jamming together. We’ll then work on the drums and groove of the track, and bassline. When writing the music elements of the tracks, we’ve found it’s more fun and hands-on to work with actual hardware synths, rather than software. When working with vocalists, sometimes we play them the idea and start writing the lyrics and melodies together. Other times we just start it all on the spot, as more of a full collaborative effort.

Why the name Gorgon City?

We decided we wanted a new name for the project, as we felt the music weren’t really our two styles combined. It sounded like something completely new altogether. It was quite random but we liked the greek mythology and reggae dancehall references – Ninjaman’s alter ego is known as “Don Gorgon”.

What can people expect from your live sets?

We play back-to-back and have a lot of fun! Our DJ sets go from deeper house to all-out bangers. We like playing longer sets when we can, I know it sounds cliche, but we like taking the crowd on a ‘journey’ through different kinds of vibes. We’re also planning on doing some kind of ‘live’ show in the near future.

You released Real last month – are you pleased with the reception it’s gotten?

Yes we are very pleased, to get on the Radio 1 and 1xtra playlists has been amazing. And thanks to Yasmin for doing such a sick vocal on the track. It wouldn’t be such a strong track if it didn’t have her on it.

You’re signed to Black Butter, who are releasing some of the best music right now. Who else do you rate on your label?

Black Butter is great as it’s a diverse label, but it’s all really high quality stuff. All the other BB artists are amazing, its a great camp to be in! Kidnap Kid is a great artist with loads of originality in his sound. His tracks get better every time as well.

Who would you rather play to: up-for-it London crowd at a warehouse, or Ibiza ravers on a beach?

Obviously both are really fun, but if we had to choose, it would definitely be in Ibiza on the beach. We love DJing outdoors. We’ve got quite a few Ibiza gigs coming this summer at Carl Cox’s night at Space. Really excited about that!

Who’s the one musician or DJ who got you into electronic music?

Matt: Liam Howlett from the Prodigy was a big inspiration. The way he uses samples and loops is incredible.

Kye: When I was a kid, I remember my parents loved the Chemical Brothers. They were often always playing the ‘Dig Your Own Hole’ album really loud on a Sunday afternoon!

Do you have any unlikely inspirations?

Matt: For me, playing Ice Hockey when I was younger was a big inspiration. I met some of my closest friends there and we have all kept in touch mainly through producing and DJing.

Kye: Sometimes an unlikely inspiration would be frustration. Making beats can often be a good stress relief!

What’s Wonderland to you?

Wonderland is the start of the summer, the first night of Glastonbury Festival, about to press play on the first tune of our set.